Bridge radius rod and engine base



B. CARLIN.

BRIDGE RADIUS ROD AND ENGINE BASE. APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 10, 1921.

Patented Nov. 7, 11922.

2 SHEETS-SHEET I V B. Car/17L m I INVENTOR WITNESS:

ATTORNEY B. CARLIN.

BRIDGE RADIUS ROD AND ENGINE BASE. APPLICATION HLED SEPT. 10, 1921.

1,435, 10%. Patented Nov. 7, 1922.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

.5. Oar/7b.. INVENTOR WITNESS:

ATTO RN EY Patented Nov. '7, 1922.

name ares eant career clerics,

BERNARD CARLIN, OF FLORALA, ALABAMA, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO BOBBY H.MEADOWS, OF FLORALA, ALABAMA.

BRIDGE RADIUS ROD AND ENGINE BASE.

Application filed September 10, 1921.

To all whomit may concern:

Be it known that I, BERNARD CARLIN, a citizen of the United States,residing at Florala, in the county of Covington and State of Alabama,have invented new and useful Improvements in Bridge Radius Rods andEngine Bases, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to structural elements of automobiles,particularly of Fords, and has for its object the provision of a novelradius rod structure designed to rereplace the ordinary V-shaped radiusrod whereby to take up the thrust upon the axle and hold the sameabsolutely rigid at all times.

An important object is the provision of an improved engine base which isof peculiar formation whereby to provide a lubricating cup or depressionbelow the fourth cylinder for effecting eflicient lubrication of thefourth connecting rod and its bearings, this base being furthermore ofsuch construction that when removed it will permit ready access to-theinside of the engine so that removal of the fourth connecting rod may beeffected in a very easy manner.

An additional object is the provision of structural elements of thischaracter which will be simple and inexpensive to manufacture, easy toinstall. highly efficient in use, durable in service and a generalimprovement in the art.

\Vith the above and other objects in view, the invention consists in thedetails of construction to be hereinafter more fully described andclaimed, and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a bottom plan view showing my devices in position;

Figure 2 is a side elevation;

Figure 3 is a side elevation of the engine base with parts broken away"and in section;

Figure 4 is a detail elevation of one of the radius rod securingbrackets;

Figure 5 is a side elevation showing one form of radius rod; and

Figures 6 and 7 are side elevationsof modified forms of radius rods. 7

Referring more particularly to the drawings, the letter A designates theside bars of the frame of a Ford automobile, B designates the frontaxle, C designates the combined crank case and transmission case, D

Serial No. 499,680.

perches, these ends of the rods being dis- 1 posed against the underside of the ax and being held in place by the nuts E which hold thespring perches. At their rear ends the radius rods are formed with ballheads 11.

In order that these rear ends may be suitably mounted with respect tothe frame, I

provide a pair of brackets 12 which are secured upon the under sides ofthe frame bars A and which are formed with holes 13 which serve asbearings for the ends of'the transverse rock shaft D. Each bracket 12has its lower end formed with a substantially semispherical socket 14,and associated with the bracket is a cap 15 likewise formed with asubstantially semi-spherical recess or socket cooperating with thesocket 14 for receiving the ball head 11. The caps 15 are held inposition by means of bolts 16 extending downwardly from the bracketthrough holes in the caps and provided with nuts 17. It is, of course,to be understood that the nuts 17 might be of such type that they may bescrewed up tightly against the cap, though it is preferable to providecoiled springs 18 interposed between the end portions of the cap and thenuts, so as to have the effect of an anti-rattler, the spring tensionautomatically taking up any play which might be caused by wear.

InFigure 5 I have shown a radius rod which is straight throughout itslength, whereas in Figure 6 I have shown a radius rod which is doubleand which is of V-shape to define upper and lower arms 19 and 20 whichare disposed above and below the 10 axle B, respectively, when inapplied position.

In Figure 7 the construction is substantially the same as in Figure '6,except that in this instance the arms 21 and 22, which correspond to thearms 19 and 20, are bent intermediate their ends, as indicated at 23.

When my radius rods are used, it is, of course, apparent that the socketmember commonly provided on the transmission case no is unnecessary, andI take advantage of this fact by providing a specially constructedengine base or removable cover plate for the bottom of the crank case.This cover plate is designated by the numeral 24 and is formed with aseries of oil pockets 25 which are of course located below theconnecting rods, not shown, for the purpose of lubricating the same.Ordinarily there is no such pocket or depression beneath the c lindermember 4, but in' the present case have shown this plate as providedwith such a pocket, which insures efiicient lubrication of the fourthcylinder and piston at all times, I have also made thiscover plate 24-of greater length than the ordinary plate which corresponds, so thatwhen it is removed there'will be ample space, permitting access to thecrank case so that removal of the fourth connecting rod may be easilyeffected in case of necessity. It is, of course, to be understood thatthis cover plate 24 is held in place by the same means as-is ordinarilyprovided.

From the foregoing'description and a studyof the drawings it will beapparent that I have thus provided a highly satisfactory radius rodstructure which will brace the front axle and hold it rigid even underthe 'most trying circumstances, so that there will be no play .of. anykind. It is also to be noted that the cover plate which I have providedis a distinct advantage as it permits the access to the inside of thecrank case as above described.

While I have shown and described the preferred embodiment of theinvention, it is of course to be understood that I have reserved theright to make such changes in the form, construction and arrangement ofparts as will not depart from the spirit of the invention or the scopeof the subjoined claim.

Having thus described my invention, I claim: p

Means, for reinforcing the front axle of an automobile comprising. apair of separate radius rods each of V-shape whereby to provide upperand lower arms having their forward ends'secured upon the top and bottomof the front axle, respectively, by means of the spring perches of theaxle, the rear ends of the rods being formed with ball heads, bracketssecured upon the side bars of the frame and formed with bearings for thetransverse emergency brake and clutch operating rock shaft, saidbrackets being further provided with substantially semi-sphericalsockets, the rear ends of the rods being formed with ball heads engagedwithin said sockets, and spring pressed caps associated with thebrackets and engaging the ball heads.

In testimony whereof I afiix my signature.

BERNARD CARLIN.

